Ridgefield company receives environmental penalty

By The Columbian

Published: February 15, 2014, 6:00 AM

RIDGEFIELD — A Ridgefield company was among 20 entities across the state hit with environmental penalties of $1,000 or more during the last three months of 2013, according to the state Department of Ecology.

Robertson & Olson Construction was fined $2,000 in November for discharging turbid water into an unnamed tributary at Diamond Meadows Subdivision in Ridgefield, according to the ecology department. The company violated clean water laws and did not have best management practices in place as required under its construction permit, according to the department.

Robertson & Olson was the only Clark County company to receive a penalty of at least $1,000 during the fourth quarter of 2013.

The largest fine went to a company in Snohomish County that failed to safely manage and dispose of dangerous waste at a metal finisher plant. Blue Streak Finishers Ltd. was penalized $60,000. Another company in Spokane was also fined $60,000 in a separate incident but later paid $40,000 under a settlement.

The ecology department handed out $315,393 in penalties of $1,000 or more from October through December.